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Are these sentences correct?

  • This book really resonates with me.
  • I really resonate with this book.

Also, are there any differences in meaning?

2 Answers 2

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Short answer, yes -- at least, the first one. The second one seems off, though. That is to say, it's grammatically correct, but I don't think it has the meaning that you expect.

In the first one, "this book really resonates with me," the conveyed meaning would be something along the lines of, "there's something about this book that I feel like I can identify with," or, "I can really empathize with this book's meaning."

In the second one, "I really resonate with this book," the above meaning isn't there, and frankly it sounds bizarre -- but I couldn't tell you why exactly. It might be because the original meaning of "resonate" is to emit sound like a bell does, or to amplify a sound -- usually a single note or chord. In such a context, one could say, "the cathedral resonated with the music from the pipe organ." In that sense, a person doesn't resonate; only objects. I think that in general, a good rule for use would be that (inanimate object/idea) resonates with (person/group).

(Plus it has more technical meanings in electronics and radio wave theory, but that's unrelated here.)

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  • The second construct (I really resonate(d) with, or I resonate(d) with) seems to be used in novels or essays though (books.google.com).
    – Giuseppe
    Nov 4, 2013 at 21:50
  • Hmm, so it does! It may be a matter of commonness, then? "resonates with me" brings back ~18,000 hits, while "I resonate with" brings back ~7,100 results. It's even more drastically common for "resonated with me" (73,000 results) compared to "I resonated with" (4,630 results).
    – pmusser
    Nov 4, 2013 at 22:00
  • @GMacar Novels and essays are creative writing, and creativity extends to inventing new words and metaphor. Chortle wasn't a word until Lewis Carroll wrote Jabberwocky.
    – Kaz
    Nov 4, 2013 at 22:18
  • @pmusser If you're a renowned writer, and native English speaker, you can invent whatever you want. If an English learner uses the same thing (invents new words, mixes metaphors, etc), then it will be simply attributed to bad English. I think in this site we have to watch out for advice that could lead to the application of this type of double standard.
    – Kaz
    Nov 4, 2013 at 22:20
  • @Kaz, I agree with you regarding the double-standard's existence. Based on the statistical frequency of each, saying that the first form is "more" right than the second would be good advice, if only by how often it's used. But I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, though -- that the double-standard's existence is bad, or that I'm suggesting something that would lead to someone being negatively subjected to it?
    – pmusser
    Nov 4, 2013 at 22:28
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There is an inherent poetry to the expression; both forms of the expression make poetic sense. When I seem to find myself within the pages of a book, the book seems to "resonate with me." If I have empathy with the characters, if their experiences fill me with associations from my own life, then the "sound" made by the book is "reverberating" within me. I am resonating with the book. I have become that cathedral.

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  • That's very poetic indeed, but I'm not sure it really addresses the question of whether the order makes a difference. Jul 24, 2015 at 5:46
  • This'll make a perfect comment, but not an answer. Just. . .Not an answer.
    – M.A.R.
    Jul 24, 2015 at 9:24

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